India Emerged as World’s Second Largest Crude Steel Producer Since 2018 and Second Largest Consumer of Finished Steel Since 2019

· Government received 79 applications from 35 companies out of which Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) were signed with 27 selected companies covering 57 applications.

A Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Specialty Steel was approved by the Government on 22.07.2021, with a financial outlay of ₹ 6,322 crores.

Objective of the PLI Scheme is to promote domestic manufacturing of 'Specialty Steel' within the country by attracting capital investment, generate employment and promote technology up-gradation in the steel sector. Salient features of the scheme include – 3 slabs of incentives, participation only by companies registered in India, commitment to thresholds of investment and incremental production given in the scheme guidelines. Specialty Steel is a value-added steel wherein normal finished steel is worked upon by way of coating, plating, heat treatment and so on, useful in applications requiring specific properties such as defence, space, power, automobile, specialized capital goods etc. Additional production of specialty steel is required for the domestic steel sector to move up the global value chain.

Application window was closed on 15.09.2022. Government received 79 applications from 35 companies out of which Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) were signed with 27 selected companies covering 57 applications. Companies participating in the PLI scheme have committed to an investment of ₹ 29,530 crores, downstream capacity addition of 24.78 million tonne and employment to about 55,000.

This information was given by the Union Minister of State for Steel and Rural Development, Faggan Singh Kulaste, in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on 27 March, 2023.